Works, Part 4 · Religious instruction · Chapter 18
CHAP. XVIII. Godly meditations concerning Christs power against Sathan, louelove to the faithfull: and how he is our wisedome, righteousnesse, holinesse: and of our communion with him.
CHrist careth for vsus, we must not feare a strōg enemie, because we hauehaveChrist is our Captaine. a stronger Captaine. The Diuell indeed is a Lion, but so is Christ a Lion, and that of the tribe of Iudah: There is a Lion for a Lion; courage for courage. The diuell is a Serpent, so Christ calleth himselfe the brasen Serpent: there is a Serpent for a Serpent; wisedome for wisedome; yea a Serpent of brasse, to sting all the fierie Serpents ofChrist a Lambe. the wildernesse. But thou saist, that Christ is called a Lambe and a worme. B… not discouraged, that is in respect of his Father, who found him as meeke as a Lambe, who might hauehave troden on him as on a worme: but the diuell neuer found him a Lambe, but a Lion. The meeknes of Christ is stronger than all the power of hell, Ioh. 18. When the diuell seemed to be in his ruffe, he sends a great crew to take a sillie man: when he told them it was he whom he sought; this little word cast them downe. What shall he doe then in glorie, when he commeth with thousands of Angels? This then is the conclusion: the diuell is strong, but Christ is stronger, and chaineth him at his pleasure: The diuell is wise, but Christ is wiser, and preuenteth him in all his practises.
2 They that will hauehave a true faith in Christ, must beleeue in the ends, and in the merciesAffliction of minde. of our saluation. The ends are, that Christ is made of God vntounto vsus, wisedome, righteousnesse, sanctification, & redemption. Art thou afraide that thou shalt goe out of thy wits, because thou fearest sinne? Are thy cogitations confounded? Seest thou no knowledge, no not so much as a litterall knowledge of thy saluation, but all is doubtfulnes, all is dulnesse, all is deadnes within thee, as though thou neuer knewest, heardest, or learnedst any thing? Now know, now is the time to beleeue, that whatsoeuer knowledge, experience & powerChrist is our wisedome. of vnderstanding was in Christ Iesu, the same is made thine; he is the annointing that will teach thee, he is the Fathers counsellor, he is wonderful, he hath the knowledge of all mysteries, he is the spirituall interpreter of the law, vntounto whom as the Fathers did approach more neerely, so they did see the power of the law more cleerely. He is our wisedome: both the teacher and the thing taught. Hast thou some good measure of knowledge, and yet thy life in no part being agreeable, nor proportionable to thy knowledge; thou art sore troubled for not walking in the waies of righteousnesse, thou feelest no goodnesse, thou thinkest thy selfe as a Sere tree without all fruite? Now remember that Christ Iesus whoSeeke not for great things in the flesh. had no holinesse by the flesh, by being borne of his mother, who saued great sinners, and made of persecutors preachers, would not hauehave thee to seeke for great things in the flesh, seeing himselfe got so little thereby, but would hauehave thee seeke thy righteousnesse out of thy selfe in him: who being no sinner indeed was an accounted sinner, and punished as a sinner for thee; that thou hauing no righteousnesse, mightest be accounted righteous, andRighteousnes. rewarded as righteous through him. Well it may be, God hath giuen thee to walke so vprightly, as the world can in nothing charge thee: but thou fearest thy naturall corruption, that thou shalt not perseuere, thou tremblest to remember how many excelling thee in gifts and graces of the Spirit, hauehave fallen away from the truth, and thinkest all is but hypocrisie, and that thy hypocrisie will one day beguile thee, now call to minde that CHRIST is made to thee holinesse, not as newe Moses to follow, but as a true Messiah to belieue in, the worker, author, and finisher of thy holines: So that albeit in respect of thy selfe to perseuere,3 Sanctificatiō. it seemes impossible, yet with him it is both possible and easie. What if thou hadst a multitude of sinnes, that thy corruption did swell till it burst? Mary Magdalen had seuenMary Magdalen. Spirits, and yet of all women she was most deuout, most louing, most honourd to hauehave the first sight of Christs resurrection. What if thou hast bin a brawned and infamous sinner, so that the name of sinne hath bene notoriously written in thy forehead? the Lord Iesus called and crowned Matthew the Publican with the dignitie of an Euangelist. What if thy sinMatthew. had taken a purple die and crimson colour in the blood of the Saints? Paul of a most grieuour persecuter of Christ, was made a most glorious preacher of Christ. It may be thou fearest the corruption drawne from thy natiue countrey, the Cretians were conuerts, and theCretians. Corinthians became Christians. It may be yet thine hereditarie, and naturall corruptions cause thee to despaire of comfort: consider the Lord can change the nature of a Wolfe intoNaturall corruption. the nature of a Lambe, & the course of a corrupt nature in thee to the power of a supernaturall grace. Oh there is one thing that troubles thee, many promises, fewe performed. Thou lookest for peace of minde, and behold a wound of the Spirit; thou art the Lord of the whole earth, and the heire of heauen, and yet hast not wherwith to helpe thy necessitie:Promises. thou art a Lord of libertie, and yet put in prison. All this I graunt, & yet in all this Christ is thy redemption; not suffering thee to be ouercome of any of these in thy life, and who lie4 Redemption. freeing thee from them in the life to come. Admit that thou werst cruelly persecuted, cannot he, that made the fire not to burne at all the children in the furnace, make the fire so easily to consume thee, as thou shalt comfortably beare it? Will not he that made the Lyons being hungry, not once to open their mouthes on Daniel, to crush thee so gently, that thou shalt willingly sustaine it? Now the meanes are the Word, Prayer, the Sacraments, and discipline of the Church. The Word euen crucifieth Christ a new in thine hart, Prayer giueth thee a feeling of thy faith, the Sacraments confirme both thy faith and feeling; and discipline continueth vsus in the obedience, both of the Word, and of Prayer, and of the Sacraments, and consequently, is a meanes to continue vsus in all those comforts, which by the other meanes are to be found in Christ.The most holie hauehave need of Christs righteousnes: and the most righteous of his holines.
3 Thou must euer beware of two extremities: The one, that thou labour not so for righteousnes, that thou forget CHRIST to be thy holinesse; the other, that thou so trauell not for holinesse, as that thou shouldest not remember him also to be thy righteousnes. And so behaue thy selfe in both, that thou beest most righteous in Christ, & yet thou must endeuour also to be holy, and though thou beest neuer so holy, yet know thou standest in neede of the righteousnes of Christ. Now to come to these things, thou must diligently attend on the word, whereby Christ Iesus is crucified a fresh in thine heart, on prayer, which worketh a feeling of thy Faith, on the Saints, which confirme thy Faith, and increase thy feeling.
4 CHRIST hath made vsus inheriters of his kingdome, which he holdeth by two titles,Note. first by inheritance, then by purchase. As he obtained by inheritance, hee reserueth thatChrist holdeth his kingdome by two titles. title to himselfe alone, but whatsoeuer he hath had by purchase, hee hath giuen vsus the title of it. And not only this doth he giuegive vsus, but also the graces of the spirit, though not to one all, nor to all in one measure. An afflicted minde seeing one of the children of God, hauehave this, another that gift, is grieued that he hath not all. It is an error, Christ giueth not to oneFeeling. all, but deuideth all among many. But there is one speciall grace which I cannot hauehave, and that is feeling. Hast thou faith? blessed art thou that belieuest, and that without feeling. Doe you belieue? you hauehave a rich gift, you must not hauehave all. If you hauehave any gifts, it is well, the gifts are diuided. Be content with thy portion, and I say vntounto thee, that thy Faith withoutSimile. feeling, is more precious to God, thē thy faith with feeling. If by thy faith thou hast madeFaith without feeling. the diuell a drone, that he cannot sting, and a toothles dog that he cannot bite, it is sufficient. Content thy selfe with thy portion, vntill the Lord come from heauen, vntill hee be all in all, and then thou shalt hauehave all ioy in all perfection.
5 Two things are necessarie, truely to espouse vsus to CHRIST; the one is to vse the pure meanes: the other, to vse those meanes with a pure heart.